1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a plurality of connecting rods that are embedded within a concrete panel or slab and to a method for sliding the rods through the concrete panel and into receipt by an adjacent concrete panel or slab in order to form a reliable joint by which to connect the panels to one another. The apparatus and method have particular application in roadway construction and/or repair where several panels must be laid end-to-end (and/or side-by-side) and connected one to the next so as to construct a continuous roadway to support vehicular traffic.
2. Background Art
As new communities are built, it is essential to have a roadway system to link each community with neighboring communities. Therefore, a series of highways and freeways are constructed to support vehicular traffic. A common technique for building such roadways is to lay a number of heavy precast concrete panels or slabs end-to-end and side-by-side one another. However, all of the panels must be level and reliably connected one to the next in order to establish a smooth and continuous driving surface.
A conventional technique to connect a first concrete panel to an adjacent panel is by means of dowel bar joints. A series of surface grooves are formed in opposing ends of each of the first and adjacent panels. The surface grooves between the panels are axially aligned. A corresponding set of dowel bars are simply laid in respective ones of the surface grooves so that each dowel bar extends between the first and adjacent panels. The surface grooves are filled in order to cover and hold the dowel bars in place. The dowel bars are intended to connect the panels together and prevent shifting and a separation of one panel from the other.
However, over time, heavy wear, changing weather patterns, and movement of the earth bed upon which the roadway is constructed, mechanical forces are applied to the ends of the panels which may cause the dowel bar joints between adjacent panels to loosen. By way of particular example, the panels may experience thermal expansion or contraction and move relative to one another as a result thereof. In this case, the panels may buckle such that the bars will be dislodged from the grooves in which they are located. Consequently, the surface-mounted dowel bars may pop out of the roadway to not only create a potentially hazardous driving surface but to also permit gaps to form and widen between adjacent panels. Such gaps can adversely affect the integrity of the entire roadway and require frequent and expensive repairs.
Therefore, what is desirable is a more reliable joint by which to overcome the aforementioned problems inherent with the use of the conventional dowel bars and be able to accommodate a movement or shifting of an adjacent pair of concrete panels in order to ensure a stable and long-term end-to-end connection of one panel to the next.